Sunday, January 31, 2016

Running Mysteries

I will never cease to be amazed at the surprising ways in which our bodies react to offbeat stressors. I've discussed "good pops" and "bad pops." Now it's the mystery of the blizzard. I've been wrestling with a pulled hamstring since Thanksgiving. Consistently after a few miles, my right hamstring would cramp and force me to walk. Recently it seemed to be getting worse, not better, kicking in after only a mile. I was working it out slowly on the treadmill when the snowstorm hit, and I did the foolhardy thing. I ran outside, in the snow, two days in a row, and increased my mileage. Boom, the hamstring pain vanished. I don't want to count my chickens, but I have now run 3-4 miles each of the last three days, twice outside and once on the treadmill, with no pain. I've kept it slow. I've stretched a lot, but I'm a bit flabbergasted. What was it about slow snow running that finally got the stubborn muscle to let go. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth (stop that metaphor), but it's odd.